This invention relates to a novel oar construction and to a novel method of making the same.
Oars that are used in rowing are of various sizes depending on their ultimate use; that is, whether they are used for one, two, four, or an eight man scull.
Originally, such oars were exclusively made of wood. More recently synthetic materials have been used to reduce the weight and to enhance the lifetime of the oar. Such synthetic materials typically include plastics, fiberglass, compositions of carbon fibres and thread.
Each of the prior art oars have deficiencies. The wooden oars are heavy and cumbersome to handle and are made from various pieces of wood sliced and laminated together. Water has a tendency to impregnate the wood by eating away at the protective finish and the oar rots and fails. Plastic, fiberglass and composite oars are generally made of two or more, generally, three discrete pieces: the paddle, the shaft, and the handle. Each of these pieces is made independently of the other and then the three pieces are assembled after fabrication to form the complete oar. The resulting joints at the handle and blade, when stressed during use, tend to separate and eventually fall apart. The fact that the blade and the shaft are separately made does not permit a transitional zone to be formed so as to improve hydrodynamic features of the external profile. Similar stress problems are related to the joint between shaft and handle.